The present invention relates generally to winding devices, and more particularly to a winding device adapted to hold and rotate a fisherman's buoy marker to wind a line onto the buoy marker.
In recent years, sophisticated electronic devices have been made to enable fisherman to locate underwater structures which are likely to be habituated by fish. When such underwater structures are located, the fisherman places a buoy marker on the surface of the water at the location of the underwater structure. The buoy marker is connected to line having a weight at one end. When the buoy marker is placed in the water, the weight causes the buoy marker to rotate thereby unwinding the line and allowing the weight to sink to the bottom.
There are several types of buoy markers currently on the market. The type most commonly used includes a generally H-shaped body having a pair of side members which are connected by a central portion. The line is connected to and wound around the central portion. One problem with this design, as well as other designs, is that there is no easy way to rewind the line onto the buoy marker. In the past, this has been done manually by holding one side of the buoy in one hand and wrapping the line about the central portion of the buoy with the other hand. This method has numerous drawbacks. First, the line is always wet from being in the water and is therefore unpleasant to handle, particularly when it is cold. Further, winding the line in by hand is a relatively slow and tedious process, particularly when a large number of buoys are involved. The amount of time needed to manually rewind a large number of buoys is particularly disadvantageous in the highly competitive tournament fishing industry. Much time is wasted rewinding buoy markers which could otherwise be spent more productively.